Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Communities of Production and Consumption During the Late Formative, Taraco Peninsula, Bolivia

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Andrew P. Roddick, with guidance provided by Dr. Christine Hastorf, will analyze archaeological ceramic artifacts excavated from three Late Formative Period (200 BC- AD 450) sites from the southern Lake Titicaca Basin, Bolivia. This period is important as it precedes the appearance of the early state of Tiwanaku (AD 450 - 1000). Currently our knowledge of the Late Formative pre-Tiwanaku period is hindered by lack of detailed research on the ceramic artifacts, which as durable artifacts inform both chronology and understanding of sociopolitical interaction. For the past three years Roddick, as a part of the Taraco Archaeological Project (TAP, directed by Dr. Christine Hastorf and Dr. Mathew Bandy) has participated in the excavation of three Late Formative sites on the Taraco Peninsula, and has conducted detailed analysis of the ceramic artifacts. The Taraco Peninsula is an ideal local to study ceramic production and consumption due to the high population density in the past and the recent history of archaeological research. Roddick will systematically trace ceramic variability from the three contemporary communities in order to better understand the social, political and economic dynamics prior to the emergence of one of the earliest states in South America. Variation in pottery stems from the choices made by potters, including changes in preferences over time. Decisions made by potters at the producer community level, drawing on local resources, are reflected in attributes of the finished products. As such pottery provides an excellent material basis for understanding how the people of Late Formative polities were transformed into the people of the Tiwanaku state. By tracking variability in pottery attributes, and the sources of clays exploited (through petrographic and chemical analysis), Roddick will track the variation in social interaction related to pottery production. By tracking spatial variability in the pottery artifacts (through analysis of excavated contexts), Roddick will investigate the spread and use of Late Formative pottery in both household settings and in increasingly complex public ceremonialism. The research on ceramic production will be the first of its kind in the region and will contribute to research on secondary lines of production evidence. This project will also contribute to the continuing scholarship on the complex social dynamics of prehistoric communities, specifically how variation in the co-participation of pottery production and consumption contributes to compositional and stylistic variation in pottery. Roddick will work closely with both Bolivian scholars and local communities. Data will be shared with local and international scholars through an open-source database, encouraging communication regarding the Late Formative Period. All findings will be presented to Bolivian agencies, and syntheses will be presented at local, regional and national meetings and scholarly publications. All presented papers will be presented on the TAP project website (http://andean.kulture.org/tap/). After research completion, the community museum will display this research on ancient pottery production and consumption in photographic displays. Tours, of both site excavations and laboratory work, will be offered to local community schools. Within the U.S., Roddick will offer outreach presentations to local Bay Area schools.